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i 

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6  ^\< 


\ 


BRA  OF  THE   FORMATION   OF  THB  HISTORIC  LBAOUB 
OF  THB  IROQUOIS. 


BY  j: 


r 


N^^Bf'H 


EWITT. 


In  his  "  Systems  of  Consanguinity  and  Afiinity  of  the  Human 
Family,"  page  151,  Mr.  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  speaking  of  the  league 
of  tlie  Iroquois,  says:  "As  near  as  can  now  he  ascertained  the 
league  had  heen  estahlished  ahout  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
when  Champlain,  in  UKM),  first  encountered  the  Mohawks  within 
their  own  territories  on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  (leorge.  This 
would  jilace  the  epoch  of  its  formation  ahout  A.  I).  1459.  .  .  . 
According  to  their  traditions,  which  are  confirmed  to  some  ex- 
tent hy  other  evidence,  they  had  resided  in  this  area  [the  present 
limits  of  the  state  of  New  York]  for  a  long  period  of  time  hefore 
the  league  was  formed,  and  had  at  times  made  war  upon  each 
other." 

This  deduction  is  based  mainly  on  traditions  obtained  from 
the  Senekas  and  the  Tuskaroras.  In  1875  Mr.  Horatio  Hale* 
was  informed  by  the  Onondaga  chiefs  resident  in  New  York 
state  that  "  it  was  their  belief  that  the  confederacy  was  formed 
about  six  generations  before  the  white  peojde  came  to  these 
parts ; "  they  had  met  to  explain  to  Mr.  Hale  their  wampum 
strings  and  belts.  Reckoning  twenty-five  years  to  a  "  genera- 
tion "  and  assuming  the  "  white  peojjle  "  to  have  been  Hudson's 
men,  in  1609,  Mr.  Hale  reaches  the  identical  date  obtained  by 
Mr.  Morgan.  Considering,  however,  how  untrustworthy  tradi- 
tion is  in  matters  of  chronology,  such  exact  accordance  in  results 
unsupported  by  historic  records  does  not  materially  strengthen 
the  probability  that  the  date  reached  thereby  is  the  correct  one. 

It  is  very  doubtful  that  "  twenty-five  "  years  were  ever  consid- 
ered as  a  "  generation  '•  by  the  Iroquois  in  computing  time,  but 
it  is  certain  that  they  did  reckon  by  the  "  length  of  a  man's  life," 
which  may  be  assumed  to  be  about  60  or  70  years ;  and  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  Onondaga  chiefs  in  1875  put  forth  a  mere  con- 
jecture, not  wishing  to  be  thought  ignorant  of  their  past  history ; 

*Iro<iuoi8  Book  of  Rites,  page  178. 


62 


THE  AMERICAN   ANTHROI'OLOOIST.  [Vol.  Vlf. 


I 


HO  that  3r»0  or  420  years  more  nearly  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  Onondiixan  Htatement  than  does  Mr.  Hale's  150,  and  of 
oourHc  an  epoch  for  the  formation  of  the  leaf^ue  aiitedating  1(K)9 
hy  3<)()  to  42>)  ye:irs  is  not  to  ho  oonHidertul.  It  was  evi«lently  u 
blind  gnesH  of  the  genial  chiefs. 

David  Cusick,  the  so-called  historian  of  the  Iroquois,  who  was 
undoubtedly  conversant  with  the  traditions  of  the  Iroquois  as 
well  as  with  the  so-called  wampum  records,  says,  in  his  "  Sketches 
of  the  Ancient  History  of  the  Six  Nations,"  that  the  confederacy 
was  formed  "  perhaps  one  thousand  years  before  Colunibus  dis- 
covered America;"  but  of  course  his  reasons  for  this  belief,  as 
Mr.  Hale  aptly  says,  "do  not  bear  exaniination." 

It  may  be  worthy  of  remark  that  the  linguistic  evidence  found 
in  (^jsick's  work  shows  conclusively  that  practically  all  the  his- 
torical and  traditional  information  put  forth  by  him  had  come 
from  the  mouths  of  the  annalists  of  the  Five  Nations  or  Iroquois 
proper,  and  not  from  Tuskarora  sources.  This  is  what  Avould 
be  expected,  for  the  reason  that  the  Tui^roras,  being  an  extra- 
limital  people  with  regard  to  the  Iroquois  proper,  could  have 
had  only  a  very  general  idea  of  the  genesis  and  history  of  the 
league  and  its  constitution  and  of  the  post-ethnic,  mythologic, 
and  legendary  lore  of  the  northern  branches  of  the  Iroquoian 
linquistic  family. 

Events  which  are  known  to  have  occurred  between  1650  and 
1656  ai)peared  to  Cusick  and  his  informants  to  have  been  syn- 
chronous with  the  discovery  of  America,  for  he  tells  us  that  the 
Eries  were  conquered  "  about  this  time."  Cusick  wrote  in  1825 
and  the  defeat  of  the  Eries  occurred  in  1656,  or  169  years  before ; 
hence,  Cusick  by  making  the  latter  date  synchronous  with  the 
discovery  of  America  in  14'.)2  places  it  1()4  years  too  early.  Here 
tradition  with  its  wampum  records  is  more  than  160  years 
astray  regarding  an  event  so  recent,  comparatively  speaking,  as 
the  overthrow  of  the  Eries.  In  other  words,  the  defeat  of  the 
Eries  occurred  169  years  before  the  time  Cusick  wrote,  and  yet 
he  and  his  co-annalists  err  bj'  160  years  regarding  the  date  of 
that  event.  What  then  must  be  the  confusion  in  tradition  con- 
cerning a  transaction  which  occurred  perhaps  75  years  earlier 
than  the  defeat  and  dispersion  of  the  Eries? 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  dates  of  the  formation  of  the  league 
deduced  by  Morgan  and  Hale  from  oral  tradition  alone  are  un- 


U .  Marcns  Baker 
©.  O.  'OL 


[Vol.  Vlt. 


Jan.  18«4.]      KOKMATION  OK  THK  IROtil'OIS  LEAOl'K. 


iiirement«  «>f 

150,  and  of 

edatiiig  1WH> 

J  ovideutly  a 

lois,  who  was 
)  IroquoiH  aH 
litt  "  Sketches 
i  confederacy 
olumbu8  dis- 
;hi8  belief,  as 

r-idence  found 
ly  all  the  his- 
lini  had  come 
18  or  IroquoiH 
I  what  wouhl 
sing  an  extra- 
jr,  could  have 
history  of  the 
[',  niythologic, 
the  Iroquoian 

veen  1650  and 
lave  been  syn- 
118  us  that  the 
wrote  in  1825 
)  years  before ; 
»nou8  with  the 

0  early.  Here 
lan  160  years 
ly  speaking,  as 
e  defeat  of  the 
wrote,  and  yet 
ng  the  date  of 

1  tradition  con- 
5  years  earlier 

n  of  the  league 
1  alone  are  un- 


tru.stworthy.  Tradition  alone  cannot  fix  it  with  any  degree  of 
probability.  The  socalled  wampum  records  arc  mnemonic  but 
not  chronologic,  and  ho  are  not  to  be  truHted  to  crttablLsh  dates. 

In  con.sidering  traditional  Htatements  a  distinction  must  be 
made  between  the  tradition  relating  to  fact  or  doctrine  and  the 
tradition  relating  to  rites  and  cerenumies ;  the  tradition  c(»n- 
cerning  fact  or  doctrine,  being  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth, 
is  oral,  and  the  tra<liti()n  of  rite  antl  ceremony,  depending  largely 
upon  observation  for  its  preservation,  is  ocular.  Tht;  relation  of 
the  most  simple  fact,  as  it  passes  from  mouth  to  mouth,  is  dis- 
torted, and  after  a  time  becomes  so  changed  that  it  has  scarcely 
any  oemblance  to  its  first  forn).  Hut  it  is  different  with  cere- 
monial observances.  These  are  seized  and  retained  by  the  sight, 
the  most  faithful  and  accurate  of  our  senses.  They  are  imitated 
until  imitation  becomes  haViitual ;  and  habits  when  once  formed 
are  changed  or  eradicated  with  difficulty.  Nothing  is  more  cer- 
tain than  that  many  customs  prevail  among  nations  and  com- 
munities for  which  they  are  wholly  unable  to  account,  their 
prevalence  l>eing  due  solely  to  traditional  observance  which  does 
not  concern  itself  with  nnitters  of  chronology.  This,  then,  is  the 
difference  between  oral  and  ocular  tradition.  The  fact  or  doc- 
trine may  be  oljscured  or  lost  in  the  current  of  time,  while  the 
ceremony  or  outward  observance  of  it  is  transmitted  nearly  or 
quite  unimpaired. 

The  first  mention  of  the  Five  Nations  or  Iroquois  proper  is 
probably  that  made  by  Jaoquea  Cartier  in  1535,  when  he  men- 
tions in  some  manuscripts  the  "  Trudamani  "  or  "  Toudamani." 
and  "  Trudamans,"  who  wore  evidently  no. other  |)eople  than  the 
well-known  "  Tsonnontowanens  "  of  later  writers.  The  latter 
was  one  of  the  names  given  the  Iroquois  by  Huronian  tribes  in 
later  times.  Of  the  "  Trudamani,"  Cartier  asserts  (in  1535)  not 
only  that  they  "  do  war  continually  among  themselves,"  but 
also  that  "  they  allowed  us  the  skins  of  five  men's  heads  spread 
upon  boards  as  we  do  use'  parchment.  Donnacona  told  us  that 
they  were  skins  of  Toudamani,  a  people  dwelling  toward  the 
south,  who  continually  do  war  against  them.  Moreover,  they 
told  us  that  it  was  two  years  past  that  those  Toudamans  came  to 
assault  them  ;  yea,  even  into  the  said  river."  Again,  at  Hotih- 
elaga,  he  was  informed  that  "  there  be  Agouionda,  that  is  as 
much  as  to  say,  evil  people,  who  go  all  armed  even  to  their 


64 


THK   AMKKICAN    ANTIlRoroUMUHT.  [Vol.  VII. 


u^^^. 


fingor  entlH.  .  .  .  Thoy  gave  uh  alno  to  underHtiiiid  that  t»i<»Ht^ 
AKouionda  do  coiitinually  war  one  iinaiiiMt  anotluT."  Tlif  wonl 
"Attouion«la"iH  evidently  tho  Iroquoirt  "  oftkhiyo»thil',"  wliich 
Hij?nifieH  Ififn  xtrike  uh  ;  luiiico  our  imnihintH.  It  Ih  prolml)!*'  that 
on(f  and  tho  same  people  waH  desi^'iiated  }>y  tlie  wordn  "  Touda- 
mani  "  and  "AK<>"i<>"'''i."  i^""*  ^'"^^  t*''**  •""*••'•'  ^as  the  Iroquoiw. 
He  dewTibea  a  Htate  of  deHultory  warfare  between  the  people 
living  on  the  St.  F.awrenee  and  the  "  Toudamani,  a  peoph*  dwell- 
ing toward  the  south."  There  is,  however,  no  hint  given  of  the 
existence  of  a  league. 

No  league  or  confederation  of  peoi>loH  wan  perhaps  ever  formed 
without  a  sufHcient  motive  in  the  nature  of  outside  pressure. 
That  the  Hurons  were  in  possession  of  the  St.  I^awrence  watcTshed 
above  and  below  the  Saguenay  river  is  evident  from  Cartier's 
narrative,  for  he  met  two  hundred  i)ersons  speaking  llunm- 
Irofiuois  fishing  at(Jaspey.     It  is  probable  that  the  Irociuois 
Avere  constrained  t!>  form  the  league  to  withstand  the  assaults  of 
the  Hurona  and  their  Algonkin  allies,  for  it  is  more  than  likely 
that  such  raids  of  the  Iroquois  as  that  mentioned  by  Cartier 
would  provoke  and  incense  the  Hurons  and  their  allies  to  seek 
means  to  avenge  their  wrongs;  and  we  should  find  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  the  league  in  a  more  aggressive  policy  of  the 
Iroquois  conseiiuent  upon  their  political  union  for  self-preser- 
vation. 

In  lfi22  (;hamplain  was  informed  at  a  peace  ci)nvention  com- 
posed of  Hurons,  Algonkins,  and  Iro(|uoi8  that  these  i>eople 
were  tired  and  fatigued  by  the  war  which  had  then  lasted  for 
"  more  than  fifty  years."  Lescarbot,  believing  that  "  the  change 
of  language  in  Canada"  was  due  to  " a  destruction  of  people," 
says,  on  page  170  of  his  Nova  Francia  (London,  lOOt)),  "  For  it 
is  some  eight  years  since  the  Iroquois  did  assemble  themselves 
to  the  number  of  8,0()0  (eight  thousand)  men,  and  discomfited 
all  their  enemies,  whom  they  surprised  in  their  enclosures;" 
and  again,  on  page  290:  "  By  such  surprises  the  Iroquois,  being 
in  number  eight  thousand  men,  have  heretofore  exterminated 
the  Algoumequins,  them  of  Hochelaga,  and  others  bordering 
upon  the  great  river." 

Thus  it  appears  by  the  quotation  from  Champlain  that  m 
lfi22  the  war  of  extermination  had  then  lasted  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  going  back  to  ir)72  and  perhaps  1560  as  the  date  of 
its  commencement. 


[Vol.  VII. 

1  tlmt  thoHe 
The  word 
hit',"  wliich 
•olmble  that 
*Ih  "  ToucJa- 
he  IroquoiH. 
1  tlie  poople 
eoph;  (lw«fll- 
jfivon  <)f  the 

ever  ft)rtried 
(le  proHMure. 
i<e  watersljed 
■om  ("artier'H 
i'xwii  Huron- 
the  IroquoiH 
10  assaults  of 
;  than  likely 
id  by  Cartier 
allies  to  seek 
I  evidence  of 
policy  of  the 
jr  self-preser- 

vention  com- 
these  i>eople 
len  lasted  for 
"  the  change 
n  of  people," 
609),  "  For  it 
le  themselves 
d  discomfited 
enclosures;'' 
rotiuois.  being 
exterminated 
ers  bordering 

plain  that  in 
for  more  than 
18  the  date  of 


.Ilill.  mn]       KORMATION  ((K  TMK  IIUKiCOIH  MCAdll':. 


6S 


The  exaggeration  as  to  th(>  numlicrs  of  the  Iroquoian  warriors 
reconlfd  by  [.cscarbot  was  evidently  put  forth  by  tlh  van- 
quished peoples,  who  consoled  their  vanity  by  assigniiiLr  the 
cause  of  their  defeat  to  the  overwhelming  luunbers  of  their 
enemies  rather  than  to  a  lack  of  courage  on  their  part. 

The  foregoing  citations,  denoting  a  serious  state  of  war,  it 
setiins  to  me,  are  indicative  of  a  newly  formed  league,  and  make 
it  probable  that  its  formation  was  subse(|ucnt  to  the  middh;  of  \ 
the  sixteenth  century  (lo')!)).  This  inference  is  supported  by 
tradition,  and,  small  as  is  tlu;  value  of  tradition  as  a  basis  of 
Mcienti.'i''  research,  it  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised  as  an  A 
adjunct.  The  Rev.  (".  TyrlaeUH,  who  was  formerly  (about  1744- 
17''>0)  a  missionary  among  the  Mohawks,  who  lived  long  with 
the  lro(|Uois.  and  who  was  well  acquainted  with  their  language, 
is  (juoted  by  Heckewelder,  in  his  "Account  of  the  History, 
Manners,  and  ('u.stoms  of  the  Indian  Nations."  as  follows:  "The 
Rev.  {'.  I'yrlaeus,  in  his  manuscript  book,  page  2;^4,  says:  'The 
alliance  or  confederacy  of  the  Five  Nations  was  established,  as 
near  as  can  be  conjectured,  one  age  (or  the  length  of  a  man's  life) 
before  the  white  people  (the  Dutch)  came  into  the  country. 
Thannawage  was  the  name  of  the  aged  Indian,  a  Mohawk,  who 
first  proposed  su(;h  an  alliance.'"  It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to 
a.ssign  a  <lefinite  number  of  years  to  the  expression  "  one  age  " 
in  the  foregoing  citation,  but,  taking  all  things  into  considera- 
tion, I  think  that  (M)  years  will  be  within  ten  years,  one  way  or 
the  other,  of  the  historical  value  of  the  mooted  expression,  and 
we  may  assume,  I  think,  1G09,  in  which  year  both  French  and 
Dutch  were  met  by  the  Iroiiuois,  as  the  probable  date  when  the 
"  white  people  came  into  the  country,"  and  by  this  reckoning 
we  obtain  lo-TO  as  the  most  probable  date  of  the  formation  of 
the  league,  which  is  deducible  from  the  precarious  factors  now 
at  hand. 

Connnenting  on  the  identification  with  the  Dutch  of  the 
"  white  people  "  mentione<l  in  the  citati(»n  from  Pyrlaeus,  Mr. 
Hale  (Book  of  Kites,  i)age  179),  says  that  this  "is  probably 
wrong.  The  white  i)eople  who  first  'came  into  the  country' 
of  the  Huron-Iroquois  nations  were  the  French  under  Cartier. 
.  .  .  The  presence  of  this  expedition,  with  its  soldiers  and 
sailors  of  strange  complexion  am'  armed  with  terrible  weapons, 
must  have  been  known  to  all  the  tribes  dwelling  along  the  river 


TIIK    AMKKM'AN    ANTIIK(>l>«)MMi|HT. 


[Vol.  VII. 


.^# 


nixi  would  imtunilly  nmkt^  an  «'|HH-h  in  th««ir  (-hronolo^y."  lUit 
it  iH  floulitftil  wliftlitir  tliu  Kivo  Niitii>nH  Icncw  arytliin^  doHnito 
iihout  tilt!  Cartior  oxiuMlition  wliich  luid  viHiUni  tho  turriioriuH 
only  of  tiieir  mortal  enoniii'H,  tor  HUch  knowlodKu  could  liav« 
conio  to  theni  only  hy  the  va^uo  licarHuy  of  oaptivuH,  and  it  '\h 
not  prohahl**  that  HUch  prucariouH  infortnatiun  "  would  naturally 
make  an  epoch  in  their  chronoloji;y." 

Tho  inforenco  from  the  prcrtuniptivo  evidence  in  tnir  poHHCH- 
'Hion  in  that  the  "  white  people "  mentioned  hy  PyrlaeuH  and 
either  hy  him  or  hy  Ileckowclder  identitied  with  the  DuUh, 
were  only  a  part  of  the  "  white  people  "  wht)  were  firHt  met  dur- 
ing the  year  UM). 

Again,  on  page  IHO  of  the  volume  cited,  Mr.  Hale  sayH  :  "  If 
when  the  Dutch  tlrHt  came  among  the  lro(|Uoi8  the  confederacy 
ha«l  exiHted  for  only  ahout  eighty  yeant,  there  nniat  have  heen 
many  pornouH  then  living  who  had  personally  known  some  of 
itH  foundorn."  But  we  have  no  proof  that  there  were  not 
"  many  "  such  personw  "  then  living,"  for  the  early  Dutch  were 
far  more  solicitous  ahout  profils  of  harter  than  f(»r  ethnologic 
data,  and  so  it  is  not  in  the  least  strange  that  they  have  left  us 
scarcely  any  trustworthy  evidence  regarding  the  institutions  of 
the  people  with  whom  they  traded. 

"  It  is,''  he  further  says,  "  (piite  inconceivahle  that  the  cloud 
of  mythological  legends  which  has  gathered  around  the  names 
of  these  founders  .  .  .  should  have  arisen  in  so  short  a 
term  as  that  suggested  hy  Pyrlaeus."  But,  in  the  first  place,  it 
is  overlooked  that  the  founders  of  the  league  were  all  men  re- 
puted to  he  skilled  in  the  arts  of  sorcery  and  the  supernatural, 
and,  secondly,  that  their  language  of  statecraft  dealt  very  largely 
in  metaphor,  allegory,  and  in  striking  symholism,  and,  lastly, 
that  common  tradition,  unhampered  hy  written  records,  would, 
in  attempting  to  eulogize  the  achievementa  of  their  heroes,  in  a 
short  time  transform  such  material  into  confused  mythologic 
legends  hy  c()nfounding  the  acts  and  sayings  of  their  heroes 
with  those  attrihuted  to  their  gods. 

Mr.  Hale  believes  it  improbable  that  in  the  brief  period 
which  bas  elapsed  since  the  date  suggested  by  the  tradition 
recorded  by  Pyrlaeus  "  a  fourth  part  of  the  names  of  the  fifty 
[original,  forty-eight]  cliiefs  "  forming  the  first  council  would 
have  become  "  unintelligible  or  at  least  doubtful  in  meaning." 


[Vol.  VII. 

Lgy."   Hut 

n^  doHnito 
territoritw 
loulil  have 
H,  ami  it  Ih 
\  imtumlly 

lur  {HMHeH- 
rlnuuH  nixl 
the  Dutt-h, 
it  met  dur- 


Jan.  1804.]      FORMATION  OP  THK  IHOgUOfS  LKAOt'E. 


er 


9  says : 


If 


confederacy 
have  heen 
WW  some  of 
e  were  not 
Dutch  were 
■  ethnologic 
have  left  us 
ititutionH  of 

it  the  cloud 
I  the  namea 

8o  short  a 
irst  place,  it 

all  men  re- 
upernatural, 
very  largely 

and,  lastly, 
ords,  would, 

heroes,  in  a 

mythologic 
their  heroes 


In  the  lirHt  place,  there  \h  no  evidence  that  many,  much  Ichm  a 
'•  fourth  ■"  part  of  the  namcM  nicntionc<l  have  conic  to  Im>  iinin- 
telligil.lc  or  doubtful  in  meaning,  and.  in  the  second  phu-c,  it 
i«  very  unlikely,  though  upon  thi,H  point  direct  evidence  is  want- 
ing, that  a  .single  name  was  Mpccially  coined  at  the  time  of  the 
eHtahliHiiineiit  of  the  league  ;  no  that  it  i.s  quite  prol.ahle  that  all 
the  namcrt  may  have  long  antedated  the  coimtitution  of  the  con- 
federacy, and  they  may  have  aluo  inherited  the  prestige  and 
tales  wpringing  from  the  heroic  or  other  acts  of  their  former 
possessors. 

liHstly,  in  the  legend  nn-iting  the  events  contemporary  with 
the  con.wititution  of  the  league  and  leading  up  to  its  formation, 
the  different  tribes  of  the  Inxpiois  art(  represented  as  dwelling 
in  the  same  relative  local  positions  which  tln-y  held  one  to 
another  when  they  first  became  known  to  transatlantic  people, 
it  does  not  seem  probable  that  they  could  have  held  these  same 
relative  positit.ns  had  the  le.-igue  existed  since  the  mi. Idle  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  Successive  migrations  necessitated  by  their 
environment  would  have  changed  much  the  relative  situation 
of  tribal  habitats  one  to  another. 

This  examination  of  the  argumentw  for  and  against  the  date 
of  the  constitution  of  the  league  suggested  by  the  tradition 
recorded  by  Pyrlaeus  makes  it  probable  that  this  date  was 
between  looO  and  1570. 


brief  period 
,he  tradition 
i  of  the  fifty 
uncil  would 
n  meaning." 


■•gm^t4('i'^'^MjMii!isiiMmiis^m', 


.IfMi^'H'-''  ' 


